Marilyn Carlson Nelson '61: Leadership and Corporate Responsibility

Marilyn Carlson Nelson '61: Leadership and Corporate Responsibility

Marilyn Carlson Nelson '61 is chair and former CEO of Minneapolis-based Carlson, the world's largest travel and hospitality corporation and one of the largest privately held companies. Under the Carlson umbrella are major hotel groups such as Country Inns and Suites and Radisson, as well as restaurant chain T.G.I Friday's. As CEO, Nelson doubled the size of Carlson and became increasingly recognized for her commitment to corporate responsibility. In 2008, she published her best-selling book "How We Lead Matters: Reflections on a Life of Leadership." While Carlson has always been recognized as an organization dedicated to giving back to the local community, Nelson took this dedication global when she and her company made a public commitment against human trafficking and implemented training for all Carlson staff to recognize potential trafficking behavior.